Anti-speeding crusading policeman to be prosecuted for... speeding

For two years Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes led the crusade against speeding drivers.

There was little sympathy for anyone clocked on police cameras and he demanded tougher sentences for hit-and-run motorists and those causing death by dangerous driving.

So many might think it the height of hypocrisy for the recent head of roads policing for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) to be summoned to court for speeding.

Mr Hughes, the Chief Constable of South Yorkshire, is accused of driving at 90mph in a 60mph zone in Halton, North Wales.

The alleged offence by the holidaying Mr Hughes happened in May on the patch of Richard Brunstrom, a fellow chief constable whose reputation-for persecuting motorists led him to be nicknamed the Mad Mullah of the Traffic Taliban.

Earlier this year, Mr Hughes, 49, said he wanted to end "the British driving public's habit of speeding whenever we can get away with it. I find it weird that there is this idea that enforcing speeding law is somehow unsporting".

And the fervent advocate of speed traps once said: "If I had my way all cameras would be completely hidden and mobile. If we are serious about speed cameras, we will have to think about that."

Now Mr Hughes could face an automatic driving ban for driving 30mph over the limit.

Paul Smith, of Safe Speed, a road safety campaign which has cast doubt on the widespread use of speed cameras, said: "This is incredible, mind-numbing hypocrisy from the most senior advocate of speed controls.

"I demand his resignation, both from the ACPO road safety committee and from his office as Chief Constable of South Yorkshire.

"He has brought the entire police service into disrepute. How can the public have confidence in such a complete buffoon?"

Amy Aeron-Thomas of Roadpeace, a charity for accident victims, said: "We don't expect officers, particularly senior ones, to be involved in other kinds of lawbreaking such as stealing so we don't think it's acceptable for them to break the law on the roads."

She added: "When we cannot trust the ACPO lead on traffic policing to respect speed limits, it does not bode well for the rest of society."

Last night, a spokesman for Mr Hughes said: "Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes has received a notice of intended prosecution in respect of an alleged driving offence in North Wales in the early morning of a Bank Holiday Monday in May. No summons has yet been received."